FrankL

Re: Who are the greatest (?) super villains? Not from a comic book, but the creepiest villain I can think of is Mr. Teatime (pronounced Teh-ah-time-eh) from Hogfather. He is a complete sociopath, who kills without provocation or warning, but only when he feels necessary. He has devised ways to kill (pardon me, "inhume") the Tooth Fairy, the Hogfather, the Soul Cake Duck, and even Death. His mind is like a broken mirror (sharp, dazzling, but broken beyond repair). He was an orphan, taken in by the Guild of Assassins (maybe they should have wondered a little harder about the mysterious death of his parents). He was known for high marks in all classes and excessive cruelty on the job, at times killing all members of a household and their pets when the contract was only for one member. He did check the breath with a mirror but as the head was three feet from the body, this was probably unnecessary. However, he was never called on the carpet for cruelty but for "lacking elegance" in the job. He had a glass eye. Rumor (though with evidence to back it up) said he had ensorceled it as a scrying crystal. This goes quite a way to explaining his abilities such as being able to stop his knife on the skin but after penetrating all layers of clothing, stopping a blade while touching the target's eye, mid air flips, uncanny dodges, and sneak attacks.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... From a teen champions, first wave. George J'nvre (Francophile, even down to wearing a beret) has one of the budding supers in the high school restroom, ready to beat him up because Steve missed the last shot of the ball game the night before. [skipping most of the back-and-forth. George was trying to provoke Steve into throwing the first punch.] George: You're such a loser, Peters! You're a second-class loser. That's 10 times worse than a first-rate loser. If they had a contest for losers, you'd... place... Steve: Yep. Trapped in your own terrible logic. Don't think about that one too hard, 'kay.

Re: My characters Just got the next one of my commissions back from Juggertha@hotmail.com. This is Shylocke Averyson, son of a noble from a fallen kingdom. He got bored guarding towns and caravans, so became a bounty hunter. He was good and never lost a bounty. After a couple years as a hunter, he won an archery contest and was invited to join the mercenary unit known as "Dogs of War." He eventually leads it. Shylocke was devoted to the god Blyde one-hand. Those devotees never use their left hand for sword work. Shylocke has lost his faith but old habits die hard. In the picture, he has been out on the town one evening when accosted by a thief with incredibly poor judgment. He has just said, "I hope you feel lucky, punk. But you aren't going to be!" [ATTACH=CONFIG]39612[/ATTACH]

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... That part in the last spoiler sounds more like it was built by Bloody Stupid Johnson instead of Leonard of Quirm.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...

Re: Final Destination Thank you for adding that depth to Vitus. It's nice to know he's not quite the 100% SOB he comes across as. Might be 99.5%, but still. Garrett - super soldier experiment from 20 years ago. He recently killed the only other surviving subject (he and Marshall had a great Wolverine/Sabertooth feud going). He would be mourned by all the supers he's trained (except those who went rogue) and the current team he's mentoring. No family except his crew. Garrett's Return would involve the healing factor going above and beyond the call of duty. He would then have to determine why he was reborn and not the other subjects. And if Garrett returns, what about Marshall? Bolt - mourned by teammates and family. They know who he is and he keeps in contact with them. Rebirth would likely involve the fact that his girlfriend has a powerset resembling vampire lore. Maybe that love bite had repercussions. As he is deeply religious, if his rebirth added vampiric traits to his powerset, he would be deeply disturbed. Which means that's probably what would happen.

Re: Genre-crossover nightmares Les Miz the musical written by H P Lovecraft. "Can you hear the people scream?"

Re: How can mutants be discriminated against while other "supers" get a pass? Must spread rep on Cygnia. Can someone whack him for me?

Re: How can mutants be discriminated against while other "supers" get a pass? I've often thought that them choosing the name Homo superior had something to do with why people mistrust them. That doesn't explain everything about the hysteria, though.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... He was thinking that would reverse the spell, right? (I might have tried reading it backwards.)

Re: Unwilling Bank Robber Garrett has demolitions from his time in the military. That wasn't his focus, but each member of his group was given broad training. Bolt would have to be evacuating people. But some of his teammates could be helpful... Blaze has fire control powers. If it explodes, she can contain it. Null Space grab the guy and teleport back to the safe house. That should get them out of range of the control device.

Re: Genre-crossover nightmares Mr. Smith goes to Dunwich. Dreams of my Father in the Witch House. It's a Wonderful Festival.

Re: Space the final frontier It can be done, but the genetic resequencing required is illegal except for severe birth defects. But determined parents can find black market doctors who will do the treatment. The results sometimes backfire badly. Which is part of why it is illegal (the rest being the Federation doesn't want another Khan).

Re: Here's the scenario Garrett can he outrun the bullets from the machine gun? Bolt uses his ranged attack and flight to catch people. Not much he can do here. Another member of the group is Blaze who can control flames. She would try to blockade the open end of the alley with flames.

Re: Stress and Degradation: Sanity? It is still available. Thank you. I had a similar question.

Re: Quote of the Week From My Life. I'm an associate (and bivocational) pastor at a small church. When my oldest son (he's 3 1/2 now) was younger, he did not like very many people. But this lady at church, he just took to right away. I was talking to the head pastor's wife about it one day. "Yeah, Ben just loves your sister-in-law. I have no idea why." :Snort. Snort. Humph! "Let me rephrase, please."

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team! Standing in for Venus, Gefjon, goddess of plowing, foreknowledge, and virginity, takes her rightful place among the pantheon as the goddess of beauty. All those who die virgins join her hallowed hall as attendants (she's miffed that she gets a smaller share of the populace than she used to). In her heyday, even Odin would not anger her because she knew the future at least as well as he did. Staying on her good side brings prosperity and good fortune. She returns to the world looking for unselfish people. She wanders the earth with a plow. Any who stop to help the seemingly weak woman plow a field are given chips of wood as payment. Though some throw the chips back in disgust, those who give a simple thank you will find that the wood turns to gold.

Several years ago, I started using JAGS to track my characters. However, that system has been "in the process of update" for about 4 years now without those coming to fruit. It definitely has some things I like, but it also feels limited. I want to take the characters I have built in JAGS and port them to HERO. Has anyone done conversions for this system?

Re: All ghosts evil? Official with which branch? I'm a seminary grad and I am aware of only a few groups that believe in the mortality of the soul as some call it (or soul sleep). Luther did believe it (and some Lutherans still do), but John Calvin wrote a treatise against it. The Catholic Church condemned it as a serious heresy at the 5th Lateran Council in 1513. And the Eastern Orthodox believe in a conscious state between death and the final state which is neither heaven nor hell. The just rest in light while the evil suffer in darkness until judgment day when they go to Heaven or Hell. Most protestant groups believe that upon death the soul goes to either Heaven or Hell immediately. The official Catholic teaching is that most believers will spend time in purgatory after death being purified for Heaven. The wicked go to Hell immediately. But your analysis of Hamlet is spot on.

Re: Create a Villain Theme Team! Enrique really hates it when people say he's Spanish. His country of Gibraltar has several times said no to Spanish rule. The son of popular, local musicians, he uses their wealth to fund his habits. He is himself accomplished musically. Music from playing a unique guitar enhances his strength and speed while causing hallucinations in opponents who hear it. His name, The Rock of Gibraltar. New team: Eric lived underneath Broadway in NYC for years. The music has both enhanced his genius and driven him insane. Authorities know him as Phantom since he wears an opera cape and a skull mask. He isn't scarred but it fits the persona and serves as a red herring to searching police (he has several times walked right by them unmasked). When he sings, his voice is hypnotic. The Angels of Music are five lovely ladies with wonderful voices whom he leads and teaches from his penthouse apartment (he calls himself "O.G." and so do they). *As if you couldn't tell. I have been listening to the Phantom soundtrack the last few days.*

Re: My characters [ATTACH=CONFIG]39093[/ATTACH] This is Karina Tomeii at age 19, introduced in the same story as Granish. Artist is Juggertha. Karina grew up in a traveling band of Fey (half human, half elf outcasts). Like Gypsies, they moved from place to place. When she was 15, she met Granish who became like a brother to her. She is an accomplished pick pocket and cat burglar. She has no training with any weapon except the knife. Spoilered because some of the info above is coming in a future story. Karina discovered early on that she has a great sense of direction and can tell when people are trying to trick her. Usually fiesty, she can be surprisingly flirty when the occasion warrants. Karina dresses like a gypsy when she’s not on a night job. She wears bright colors and large, hoop earrings (silver). When she is picking pockets, she stays in her day clothes. Her assumption (right most of the time) is that marks will overlook the girl in bright clothes who is obviously not trying to blend in. In the picture, she has spotted a mark who needs to be relieved of a coin purse and is planning her move.

Re: NGD Scenes from a Hat You receive a yellow Star of David in the mail.

Re: Artwork needed: Cat people. Not a commission, but Googling "cat person" is scar Bounty hunter Granish d'Dunnor as painted by the great Juggertha (juggertha@hotmail.com). This is the leonine breed. In the future, I plan on having him do the tigrine and jubatine (cheetah) breeds. Hope that helps. [ATTACH=CONFIG]39064[/ATTACH]

Re: Curse My Gamer ADD (aka, I Really Shouldn't Have Watched "X-Men: First Class") Maybe the inspiration isn't a curse but a blessing. I've been there with my fantasy stories. Have an outline for "The Stronger Rule," a sequel to a well-received story of mine, "The Strong Survive." While outlining TSR, a new idea for "New Life," a story I had put on hold, came into my head. "New Life" has turned out very well in my beta readers' opinions (and about twice as long as I originally intended). I'll be working on TSR soon and hope the step back works for it. I say that to encourage you in your decision. Maybe the time away from Agents has helped it grow in your subconscious.

Re: Icons - The Costume and Superpowers Store Must spread rep! Can somebody get Query for me?